Here is my list of some of the best, brightest, loveliest poetry of 2020. Do not let these books escape your notice! They are best read every month of the year (and not just April!). An ode to the 811s . . .
Review of the Day: I Wish by Toon Tellegen, ill. Ingrid Godon, translated by David Colmer
September 17, 2020 by
I Wish isn’t going to sit quietly in a category. It’s the kind of book that would rather wander off and make up its own categories, expecting you to follow dutifully behind. And you will, because it is strange and wonderful and ultimately very very memorable. Can many other books out there say half as much?
Review of the Day: A Little Called Pauline by Gertrude Stein with Bianca Stone
February 29, 2020 by
I’ve no doubt that there will be plenty of folks out there that take one look at its simple cover, flip through, scoff, and set it down. More fool they. If you want a book that gives your children raw, unblemished poetry in a form they CAN’T understand and love NOT understanding, this is the book for them.
31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Poetry Books
December 16, 2019 by
A fan of poems? On this list we’ve classic poets re-illustrated, first timers, funny poems, deeply meaningful ones, poems that tie into the moon landing, nursery rhymes, and many many more. There’s something for everyone on today’s list. Don’t believe me? See for yourself
Wild in the Streets: A Marilyn Singer Interview + Blog Tour
September 18, 2019 by
You want something high class and snazzy? You know who to turn to. Today I sit down (virtually) with Marilyn Singer and I pull no punches, people! Good thing I really like today’s book.
Review of the Day: Up Verses Down by Calef Brown
August 29, 2019 by
By my thinking you can never have enough nonsense taking up residence in a human brain. Calef Brown’s latest just proves it.
Review of the Day: Climbing Shadows by Shannon Bramer, ill. Cindy Derby
May 31, 2019 by
Do you remember that scene in Orlando by Virginia Woolf where a bunch of witty people are in a room saying witty things and then Alexander Pope walks in and says three things so devastatingly witty that he just destroys everything? That’s what happens when Climbing Shadows gets paired alongside other collections of poetry. Smart. Honestly heartfelt. Utterly beautiful to look at. See the bar? Yeah. It just got raised.
Poetry Month Ain’t Over Till I Sez It’s Over: The Shockingly Good Verse of 2019
May 7, 2019 by
Gather round me, ye children. I know we’re in May, but poetry can shine every day of the year if it wants to. This is all the new good stuff. You know you wanna know what’s worthy.
Review of the Day: Sweet Dreamers by Isabelle Simler
March 6, 2019 by
Simler has previously wowed American audience with such books as Plume and the magnificent The Blue Hour. Now, thanks in part to the elegant translation by Sarah Ardizzone, she has crafted a new kind of bedtime book. One rooted in poetry, dreams, seasons, fuzzy noses, lilting words, and a type of scratch art never before made possible.
31 Days, 31 Lists: 2018 Poetry Books
December 17, 2018 by
Poems used to be the sole property of April a.k.a. Poetry Month. Now that’s changing. Publishers are rapidly putting more faith into the poetry books they produce. So let’s take a look at what we saw this year, and the wide range of topics that were touched.
Review of the Day: Jabberwalking by Juan Felipe Herrera
August 29, 2018 by
Jabberwalking By Juan Felipe Herrera Candlewick Press $22.99 ISBN: 9781536201406 Ages 10 and up On shelves now Not too long ago I taught a six-week summer creative writing course for teens. Now I’ve never taught creative writing before. Truth be told, I had no idea where to start. So, like any good librarian, I hit […]
Review of the Day: Seeing Into Tomorrow by Richard Wright and Nina Crews
May 23, 2018 by
Seeing Into Tomorrow Haiku by Richard Wright Biography and illustrations by Nina Crews Millbrook Press (a division of Lerner) $19.99 ISBN: 978-1-5124-1865-1 Ages 6-10 On shelves now I hate that phrase, “A picture’s worth a thousand words”. It’s trite. Simplistic. And horrendously true. Pictures have power. Take the story that’s been handed to us about […]
Review of the Day: Can I Touch Your Hair? by Irene Latham & Charles Waters
February 21, 2018 by
Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes and Friendship By Irene Latham & Charles Waters Illustrated by Sean Qualls & Selina Alko Carolrhoda Books (a division of Lerner) $17.99 ISBN: 978-1-5124-0442-5 Ages 6 and up On shelves now For a long time, maybe as long as children’s books have been published in America, […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Seventeen – 2017 Poetry Books for Kids
December 17, 2017 by
P-p-p-poetry! Motto: It’s not just for April anymore. In a given year I tend to run out of poetry books for kids to review. I’ll find five or six spectacular ones, and then a handful of hundrum okay-but-not-great titles to fill in the gaps. 2017 changed the rules on me. Suddenly I found myself with […]
New Kinds of Poetry: Title Poems (2017 Edition)
April 12, 2017 by
It’s Poetry Month, my dulcet darlings! That can mean only one thing. Time to come up with a new way of writing poetry. Today, the challenge is simple. Write original poetry, that makes sense, entirely out of the titles of books published in 2017. For my purposes today I think I’ll work entirely in the […]
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